I heard people going into multiple stores & getting a different reading each time.

I just tried the on-line tool with a light neutral undertone shade & all my results were medium with pink or yellow undertones. I also don't understand why I only get a few results and then try another foundation and get different product results. Like if I plugged in a tinted moisturizer shade I wouldn't get any powder product results even though that's what I'm looking for.

Re: Color IQ

As I mentioned, I love the Lancome. I also really like the MUFE in 120 Golden Sand. Before the Pantone system, I had bought the MUFE in the wrong shade and absolutely hated it. Now that I have the correct shade I feel completely different about the product.

I also had bought the Yves Saint Laurent Le Teint Touche Eclat Illuminating Foundation before pantone in the wrong shade (too dark), but once I got the correct shade, Beige 40, it has made a huge difference.

I now would like to try the Ardency Inn in the Light-Medium Olive, as well as the Bare Minerals in Light.

I like different foundations in different formulations and textures so that I have a bit of variety. I hope this helps!

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Re: Color IQ

Thank you so much! Ones that I use and that are color matches for me (that I discovered on my own prior to being matched) are Dior nude liquid in 021 linen, Sephora microsmooth in 15 nude, and tarte 12 hour amazonian clay foundation in light-medium.

I'm 1Y06. I can't believe I got 3Y once. I thought the 06 was a bit high, but after swatching some of the foundations I think it's ok.

Roxystar is right though, some of the foundation matches in the system are a little off.

In DiorSkin Forever powder I'm a 20, got matched before color IQ came out & it's my perfect powder shade. When I type in 1Y06 in the database, I have a match for the DiorSkin in both the liquid & powder. The liquid I'm a 20, but for the powder I'm a 32.

Re: Color IQ

I recently got matched and I feel like the whole process was awesome! I have been really struggling with finding a good foundation match because I no longer tan (had the cancer scare like many people do). I have always worn such dark shades. MUFE mat duo in 209, loreal true match in W9, UD Naked in 8, etc. I hold my color very well but it has faded alot since summer. I was going to the drug store buying every shade of true match from w3-w7 and could not find anything to blend into my neck and look natural. I was literally in tears about it on many occassions. I went in to get color matched and before i even told the cast member I was rouge she had me in a chair. She wiped off all my foundation, let my skin settle and asked me what was most important to me about my foundation. She went on to say some people want theirs to make them lighter, some want to blend perfectly with their neck and chest, some use foundation to make them darker, etc. I told her my concerns and this helped her to determine where to take my 3 pics. She actually took one of my neck and the inside of my wrist. I came out to be a 2Y08. She matched me with the hourglass immaculate in beige, which I belive is a match for 2Y07 (I could be wrong). She told me depending on self tanning to choose anything between 2Y07-2Y09, possibly 2Y10 in the summer. My face definitely looked lighter but it looked right. Being so tan can make your face makeup look so harsh and I felt if I wore a full face that I was way too made up and didn't look natural. She even matched me on a concealer, did a retinol treatment on me and made my whole face up again with blush and lips. I then told her I was rouge and she hooked up it on samples. I was super impressed and honestly cannot be more pleased with how well my makeup not only blends in so well but addresses my needs for mattifying and belmish control.

Re: Color IQ

i've done it 3 times. each time was a different read. the SA's told me that sometimes freckles and other discoloration can change the reading but they seemed pretty careful to avoid those areas (I have freckles on my nose).

It was funny too because the SA took two of the foundations that Color IQ suggested the first time (I told her they were too dark on me) and we wanted to just test them. One foundation was only slightly darker and the other was too dark and too orange (Maybe it was because the tester had been out for a while?) idk. But it seems like some of the products in the same color grouping aren't the same. that's just my opinion though

Re: Color IQ

hmmm that could be it! I tried using the on-line tool with foundations I already own/have tried. 2 are from the same brand, blend perfectly into my skin, have a similar description, yet are a different IQ number.

Re: Color IQ

dannyc, I was just playing around with this today (again!) and wow, so many of the groupings are way off! I don't think sephora accounts for the color of the foundation once it sets/dries. Most of my foundations are in different groupings. My test to see if it's a perfect match it to get a sample, wear it outside and have my husband look at it from different angles in natural light. Then we do the same thing inside. Then I scrutinize my face again in the mirror. I see how it reacts throughout the day as well (how it mixes with facial oils/wears).

anyways, I will NOT be going off of color IQ. (I actually was suggested a color based on my reading and online) I went and swatched it and it was way too orange/dark. I swatched the one (this time with the manager SA) that I thought would match (a lighter shade- but in the color IQ it has it in a darker category??) she and I both agreed that the color IQ recommendation wasn't good and that the color we both thought matched was perfect (despite that color IQ put it in a darker category).

Re: Color IQ

I've done it once in stores, and thought it was cool. It matched me to a bunch of foundations (including a shade from NARS called "Punjab" -- a part of Pakistan where my mom is from. I wanted to laugh and also say wth? at the same time, lol) and the one I selected (Smashbox) matched my skin perfectly. I noted down some of the other foundations/shades that were matched to me so I can try them out too in the future!

I think it's important to keep in mind that the color IQ thing goes from an average of the samples of your coloring -- so if you have any redness that might affect the reading. Another thing is that our skin tones can change slightly throughout the year -- like getting paler in the winter months and tanner in the summer.

Re: Color IQ

I've had it done twice on moisturized bare skin (no sunscreen) at different times of the day in indirect natural light shining through the store window. Both times were different numbers, both too dark. I have very translucent skin, I think that may be one of the shortcomings of the system, measuring pigment but not compensating for light diffusion. Not to mention some of us like to correct to neutral undertone and mix to foundation contour with our products! Not very useful for me...For the foundation class, my SA just smiled and brought me NARS Siberia.

Re: Color IQ

Haven't tried it, but a Sephora person mentioned it is best to walk in their door without anything on your face, for the best results. For her, the color was all wrong when she tried the device with products on. She also said they use the device on a few parts of the face to get the best result.

Have played around a little with the online input you're current foundation, name and color, to find matches. Not sure about the matches, as a few of my different foundations did not always appear when one of them was inputted.

Re: Color IQ

I tried it twice without foundation, once I walked in the store with foundation on. They made me clean it off, wait 5 minutes & then do the color IQ. All 3 times I got a different number, all 3 times they were too dark & too yellow. I let them swatch the foundation & wait to see their reaction LOL!

I may go to a store today, just need to remember not to put foundation on when I leave the house

Re: Color IQ

I can't remember what shade myself and my cousin got matched to in stores, but it was completely off.

Just to name a few, I wear Smashbox's Studio Skin in 1.2, their HALO powder in Light, the Champagne shades in Benefit (powder and liquid), the light/medium option in Josie Maran's Matchmaker Foundation, and Fairly Light in Bare Minerals (I don't wear BM personally, but I do know what shade I wear in the line) and the Color IQ gadget matched me to shade 5 in Smashbox's Liquid Halo......hello, way too dark!

My cousin wears shade 3 in Urban Decay's Naked and has a slight golden undertone, the Color IQ match gave her a neutral based Lancome foundation and it washed her out entirely. There's not a whole lot of yellow/golden undertones to her skin, but a neutral is just enough to take all the color out, so I rematched her to Smashbox's Liquid Halo in 2.

I think the Color IQ is great in theory, but I wish they could have a feature that cross matches not just the Color IQ number, but also shades of foundation you already wear just to see if matches line up across the board.